harriet

I'm thinking of hiring a local teenager to help around the farm, do light work, help clean out stalls, mabye a bit of light yard work. How much should I pay him for the work?

countrygirl

I would say pay him $8-$10 an hour and if he does a really great job after a month or so give him a bit of a raise. He is doing physical labor so that's why he should get paid well, even if it is light work.
Also, when I find a teenager who has a really great work ethic I want to pay him/her well because I don't want someone else to snatch them away!!

purplefdu

Honestly in the US the average barn employee still probably makes under $8 an hour on average. I spent last summer trying to find a job that would leave me something after paying for the gas to get out to the farm and came up empty as many offered 6.50-7/hr and only wanted to pay for a couple hours in the morning a couple days a week (of course weekends was required to be in those couple days).

It totally annoys me that such things still go on under the guise of "agricultural" work in the US. I made 6.50 flipping burgers the first day I worked, let alone at the end of 5yrs. Its amazing there are any hard laborers left in the US.

Estelle

I would say that it depends how much you value the work. Sure, you could go by local rates, but remember that if you pay peanuts you get monkeys. Pay what it's worth to you.

flatback_frannie

I was going to say 6-8 an hour for a teenager, but it may depend on your area. I pay $8 for a teenager to babysit my kids, I wouldn't pay more for yardwork, but that's just me.

dreamer

I would start with whatever minimum wage is out there. If the young man shows his worth in the first month or so, maybe give him a bit more. You want to keep a good worker, and this way you're not paying good wages if he's a slacker.

Twilight

American pay rate is sooo different to australias. A teenager would be getting 15+ and hour for doing work like that.

I am only eighteen and get 14+ an hour just for working in a retail store. Odd...

dappledear

Unfortunately in the US agricultural labor does not have the same laws as other outlets such as retail or even food services. Children as young as 11 (I think, might be 13 in some places) can work without max hour restrictions, on dangerous equipment they wouldn't be permitted to elsewhere. They can also drive a vehicle (tractor, truck, etc) without a license at an early age. Since most of this is also supported by migrant workers to increase profit margins it doesn't pay well, not to mention there are always young riders who will toil all day for an extra hour of riding. Which means you have the choice between paying decent, paying peanuts, or getting some poor girl to do it for essentially free.

CowboyJack

That does it! Now I want to go and move to Australia!

15+ an hour? How long have you been working there anyway?

As for the question on how much to pay a teenager helping around the farm, I would say it would depend on age and experience.

At least $7 an hour should be expected though.